While many Tampa Bay area home builders have put down their hammers, some continue to start construction on new homes – just not very many of them. Area builders started construction on 932 single-family homes in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to Houston-based Metrostudy, which tracks new home construction, That's a 32.9 percent decrease from last year and the first time in at least 23 years that housing starts fell below 1,000 in a quarter. Why are builders building any homes in this economy? If they want to stay in business, they say they have to keep building at least some homes. ...more

February 4, 2009

Pasco County could force home builders to strengthen the foundations of future homes, according to a proposal aimed at reducing sinkhole claims and avoiding settling damage to homes built on soft soils. ...more

January 28, 2009

Back in late May and early June, Highlands County government officials, home builders and real estate agents talked about the possibility of an advertising campaign targeting coastal areas to promote home buying in Highlands County. ...more

December 2, 2008

As the list of companies seeking government help grows, it is anybody's guess where the Treasury Department's largesse will stop. ...more

November 1, 2008

On Tuesday, the Highlands County commissioners will consider a major change in the way impact fees are paid. ...more

October 5, 2008

Green Not So Green I have a dilemma that I need the liberal global warming alarmists to help me with. If we go to "electric" cars, I foresee a conflict of interest. Do I demonstrate my "greenness" by having an electric-powered rollerskate, thereby increasing the demand of electricty, thereby increasing the amount of coal or nuclear power usage while thumbing my nose at the oil companies? ...more

July 18, 2008

For the past two years, the home-building industry has been going through a correction. Builders have watched the market turn from "red-hot speculator driven buying" to one overstocked with finished homes, says Gregg Carlson of Maronda Homes. Couple this excess inventory with a mortgage industry meltdown and it's easy to understand why many home builders find themselves fighting for survival, he says. ...more

June 22, 2008

last week's 6.3 percent increase in April's pending home sales index, for example - there's a flurry of pronouncements that the residential real estate market has bottomed. ...more

June 19, 2008

Retailers, home builders and many manufacturers should brace for even more rough times ahead, a somber Federal Reserve suggested Wednesday amid growing fears that the United States might be sliding into recession. ...more

January 17, 2008

The Pasco Building Association is accepting entries from county home builders for its ninth annual 2008 Parade of Homes and Neighborhoods on Parade. They must be in by Jan. 7. ...more

December 26, 2007